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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28860432">Grace My Lips With Yours. One. Last. Time.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/zutaraiscrap/pseuds/zutaraiscrap'>zutaraiscrap</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aged-Up Character(s), Early Linzin (Lin/Tenzin), F/F, I already have way to many fics but I don't care, I have a HUGE crush on Toph!, I know Suyin is canonically Toph's biological daughter, I'm gonna do another one, Lao Beifong is bigoted, Original Character Death(s), So Bear With me, Suyin is a little shit when she's young, TOPH IS FUCKING BISEXUAL AND NO ONE CAN TELL ME DIFFERENT!!!!!, This is the first fic I've written with cursing/mature crap, Toph's got daddy issues, but not here!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 05:27:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,662</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28860432</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/zutaraiscrap/pseuds/zutaraiscrap</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Toph and Moira could not be happier! They have their daughters, their friends, and each other. But when a stupid, bigoted Earth Kingdom murderer recruited by Lao Beifong kills Moira to stop Toph from being Bi, it wil take more than friends to stop Toph from carrying out her plan.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aang/Katara (Avatar), Lin Beifong/Tenzin, Suki/Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong/Original Female Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Avatar! Because if I did, Suki would have fallen in love with the man who....burned down her village, and Toph would be making out with Sokka, because I don't give a damn about age difference. Yup.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>  Kisses. Passionate, butterfly kisses fluttering up and down her neck. Damn, Toph knew how to do this! It made her wonder if...she’d done it before. Maybe with that Earth KIngdom girl she used to know. Umm...something with a U...un,unm..Unmei, right? Yeah, her. Moira sighed contentedly, running her hands along Toph’s bare legs. After a couple minutes, Toph pulled back from the younger girl’s neck and grinned, just before crushing their lips together with a long kiss, deep like the rivers after a thunderstorm. 28 and 30, the two girls loved each other beyond this Earth. Toph and Moira both already had a child each, but they had completely forgotten about the two men that had brought the two girls, Lin and Suyin, into this world. Kanto and Kaji were just distant memories at times like this. Moira twirled her finger in the cluster of black hair between the Earthender’s legs and smiled in the kiss. The heat radiating from her body was enough to keep the pair warm, while they laid pleasuring each other in the cold South Pole hut. Visiting their beloved friends at the freezing tip of the Earth was something they did quite regularly, and the cold didn’t keep them from making love to each other. One of the grand conveniences of being a Firebender! </p><p> </p><p>  The next morning, the two girls woke up to bright sunshine glaring through the icy panes of the window. Toph sat up and stretched, a small groan escaping from her lips. She patted Moira’s stomach, running her other hand through her ebony hair. </p><p>“Come on, love. I would think you would know by now that nights like that don’t give an excuse to skip sparring.” she said, a slight hint of smugness tip-toeing into her voice.  She reached up and tugged on a single strand of auburn brown hair, separated by the single gold bead that had been Toph’s engagement present. The bead was engraved with combined Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom symbols and the Fire Nation Girl rarely took it out.“Ugh. Yeah.” Moira sighed, pulling herself out of bed and snatching her robe from off the hook on the door. She shrugged it on and tied the belt around her waist. “But I <em> am </em> taking a shower before we do anything.”</p><p>“Doesn’t sparring defeat the purpose of a shower?” asked Toph, who had already put on a pair of underwear and was in the middle of wrapping sea green bindings around her chest. </p><p>“I guess...but I’m still doing it.”</p><p>“Whatever. I’ll meet you outside.” Toph pulled her tan training shirt over her head and took a pair of loose green pants out of her suitcase. Moira nodded and walked out of the room, checking on the kids on the way to make sure they were still asleep. She trodded into the bathroom and slipped her crimson robe off, flicking the hot water on. She took a quick, ten minute shower and dried herself off. She put her robe back on and walked out into the hall, nearly running into Katara. </p><p>“Oh! Morning, M!” said the Waterbending prodigy. Her silk tank top and sweatpants covered in snowflake patterns swayed as she came to a rapid stop in front of the younger girl.</p><p>“G’morning, Katara!” she smiled. Katara smirked knowingly.</p><p>“Have some fun with Toph last night?” she asked, already knowing the answer. </p><p>“Wha...” Katara pointed at her neck and Moira leaned into the bathroom to look in the mirror, finding small brownish, purple spots along the side of her throat. She frowned and groaned.</p><p>“I told her to go easy…” she said, running two fingers along her neck, tilting her head upwards to get a better look at the damage.</p><p>“Yeah, well if she’s anything like Aang, she’s gonna forget any sort of warnings the second she gets her lips on you. <em> Anywhere </em> on you.” informed Katara. They were interrupted by shouts coming from outside. </p><p>“Mermaid, get your ass out here before I come in there!” yelled the Earthbender in question. Moira rolled her eyes.</p><p>“I’d better get dressed and get out to start sparring before she does something I’ll regret.” she sighed.</p><p>“You’ll regret?”</p><p>“Mm-hm. She? Doesn’t regret anything.”</p><p>“Ah. Well, I’ll let you get to it.”</p><p>“ ‘Kay. See ya.”</p><p>“Bye.” Moira walked into her bedroom and pulled a pair of clothes out of her suitcase. Tight, thick, red fleece hugged her legs and (despite the cold) a gold lined strip of crimson fabric covered her bindings. She could produce enough heat to keep her warm in the revealing top, while still showing off her insanely toned stomach and chest. Her pale yellow bindings hugged her breasts close to her chest, the way they always did when she was training. Knee length black boots with red flame patterns slipped over her feet and a small red band with a small golden flame held her top knot tight on her head. The rest of her hair fell down her shoulders in ruddy brown waves, shining like fresh silk threads. </p><p>She decided to take advantage of her wife’s disability and vaulted out the window, landing softly on the ice. She creeped up behind the shorter girl and quickly pressed a chaste kiss to the tip of her ear. The older girl jumped and spun around, arms held up in a defensive stance. </p><p>“What are you DOING?!” I would have killed you!” she screeched. </p><p>“I thought you didn’t have access to the earth.” smirked Moira, placing her hands on her hips and shifting her weight onto one of her legs.</p><p>“I don’t have access to huge spaces of the Earth like I would anywhere else, but if I can get my hands on any shard of earth or metal, I can do some damage.”</p><p>“Yeah, okay. Anyway, are we starting, or are you just gonna sit here <em> telling </em> me what you can do?” Toph’s response was a punch directed at her face. Moira quickly dodged the attack and backflipped behind a chunk of ice. She crouched down and threw one of her legs out, catching her heel on the edge of the ice. She twisted her body around, her boot sliding on the ice. She pulled her heel back from the ice and used the momentum of her twirl to force herself up in a ballerina-like spin. She lifted her leg straight up and brought it down on Toph’s shoulder, throwing the smaller girl off balance. Toph then countered the action by cartwheeling sideways, using Moira’s hit to give her the momentum to do so. But this left her vulnerable. Moira was able to quickly slide under her and grab her shoulders, stopping her mid-cartwheel and pulling her down on the ice. Toph whipped her legs around like a break-dancer and caught Moira in the chest, throwing her to the side. The taller girl laid there, panting, as her wife walked over and gently placed a foot on her raised knee. She pushed down and Moira didn’t resist. Toph crouched and pushed a strand of hair out of the younger woman’s face. She frowned slightly.</p><p>“Hm. You don’t usually give up that early and we’ve not been out here long. Somethin’ up?” she asked.</p><p>“Mmm, don’t think so. Well, other than being sooo self-conscious about this.” she said, pointing to the row of bruises on her neck. “You know Sokka’s gonna see it.”</p><p>“Oops. You’re just so pretty…”</p><p>“Aww, don’t start that.” groaned Moira, pushing herself off the ice. “Come on. Let’s get something to eat.” She wrapped her arm around Toph’s shoulder’s and felt the Earthbender’s arm around her waist. She squeezed her shoulders and they walked inside. </p><p> </p><p>Stripping off their training clothes and pulling on everyday outfits, they chatted about random things. Training, Sokka, bruises, accidents, teaching Aang, all sorts of things. Moira glanced at Toph, then at herself in the mirror. </p><p>“Damn, we look <em> good </em>! I told you getting new clothes was a good idea.” she said. </p><p>“Considering I can’t <em> see </em> what you’re talking about, I’ll just have to take your word for it.”</p><p>“Right. Whoops.” But Moira still couldn’t get over how much better Toph looked in her new clothes. </p><p> </p><p>Crisp green fabric clung to her hips and chest with tan lace curled around the long sleeves. Tight green leggings hugged her legs underneath the short brown skirt Moira had convinced her to wear. Her meteor bracelet was wrapped around her ankle (where she had moved it a while ago because it was easier to pull it from her leg than her arm, apparently) and a loop of black fabric decorated with brown, green, and yellow gems pressed tightly against her neck. The tattoo of a badger mole she had on her ankle was mostly hidden by short green boots Moira had convinced her to (reluctantly) wear during their trips to the South Pole. </p><p> </p><p>Moira, on the other hand, was all red, black, and gold. <em> Her </em> tattoo was two red swirls with black and gold flames surrounding them. A golden dress swayed at her knees and black leggings clung to her legs. Worn black boots fit snugly around her feet. Fingerless black gloves tightly grasped her hands and fore-arms. Cold metal clinked against the black leather lining the top of her dress. She’d worn the pendant ever since her father died. A red headband similar to the one she was told Aang had worn when they went undercover in the Fire Nation dug slightly into her skull, and a furry black jacket hid most of the shiny red belt at her waist.</p><p> </p><p>The couple was putting the finishing touches on their outfits when Moira was nearly knocked onto her face by a small body, clothed in a red nightgown. Moira had insisted on Suyin wearing red,because although she was an Earthbender like her father, she had Fire Nation blood from her mother.</p><p>“MOMMA! SUYIN RUINED MY CLOTHES!!!!!!” screamed a young Earthbender from the room down the hall. Toph placed her hands on cocked hips and frowned at the girl on Moira’s back. </p><p>“What did you do now?” she sighed, turning towards the door. Moira put the sheepishly smiling girl on the floor. She grabbed Su’s hand and they walked down the hall to the room the two siblings shared. Sure enough, Lin was standing in the middle of the room, in nothing but her bindings and underwear. Her clothes were pulled out of her suitcase and had paint all over them. </p><p>“Su! What did you do?” asked Moira, glancing down at her daughter. The 7-year-old grinned and stuck her tongue out at Lin.</p><p>“That’s what you get for telling Uncle Sokka I took his boomerang.” said Suyin. The older womens’ eyes widened. </p><p>“You did what?!” they exclaimed. Moira facepalmed.</p><p>“Why did I have to marry the most rebellious boy in my entire school?! I swear, Kaji is reincarnated in you.” she sighed. She started picking up the clothes and let go of Suyin’s hand. Once the clothes were all gathered, Moira gestured to her room. </p><p>“Go see if you can find Suyin’s robe in there. It’s a little too big for her, so it should fit you okay until we get some clothes.” she said. Toph looked quizzically at her and Moira rolled her eyes. </p><p>“The last time I gave it to her, she tried to use the belt to tie cabbages to a stick and get Appa to give her a ride. By herself! How did I end up with such a troublemaker?” she asked the heavens. She shook her head and walked off to find Katara. Maybe she could do something about the clothes.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I still don't own Avatar. I wish I did. But I don't.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Moira lightly heated the slightly damp clothes and handed them to her daughter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here you go, Linny. Sorry about Su.” she said. Lin shrugged and took the clothes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine. I mean, it’s not like you, Sokka, and Zuko didn’t warn me.” she said. Moira winced a little.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeesh...we were kinda...helicopter-ing you, huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just a little. Momma, it’s okay. You were worried because I was a lot like Mom and she grew up with no siblings, so you weren’t sure how I would handle Su. It’s FINE.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. You know what, it’s been a while since we’ve had a day all to ourselves. We leave for the Earth Kingdom tomorrow, that means we’ll get there in 4 days. Which would put us at the 27th. And you know what the 27th is…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The….Jasmine Dragon’s renovations are finished and Uncle Iroh is giving discounts to everyone that comes in before 8!!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup. So I’ll get Toph to take care of Suyin, and we can go see Uncle Iroh. Su has more fun with her anyway.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s ‘cause she always takes her to training with the Dai Li.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, and I still don’t approve of that. But I guess it’s kinda unavoidable.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mmm-hmm. Uh. Mm, I think Sokka’s coming...with...Bumi, maybe?” Two seconds later, Sokka and Tenzin walked through the door. Lin’s face fell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“OH, dangit! It’s Tenzin, not Bumi!” she said. Moira pressed a small kiss to the crown of her head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, it’s good! You’re getting better. You are going to be just like your mom.” she said. Sokka cleared his throat, reminding them he and the young Airbender were in the room. They turned towards him and he bowed curtly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Young Ladies. We are here to be your personal escorts to the dining table of the Avatar’s Residence.” he said in an British accent. Lin giggled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How’d you get roped into this, Tenzy?” she said. Tenzin rolled his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up. I literally came to get you guys for breakfast and Uncle Sokka just came with. This was NOT the agreement. I told him not to do anything stupid.” he said. Sokka snorted and straightened up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, what you told me was to not embarrass you in front of Linny.” he corrected. Tenzin blushed bright red and buried his face in his hands. Lin walked over and pulled his hands off of his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aw, that’s sweet, but I don’t think Uncle Sokka could ever embarrass you. You have too much pride for that.” she giggled. He smiled and she pressed a sweet kiss to his cheek. If his face could get any brighter red, it did just then. She giggled again, and pulled him out of the room. Moira laughed and shook her head. She put her hands on her hip and leaned against the doorframe, watching her daughter and the Avatar’s son walk towards the kitchen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you think it’ll be until they get together?” asked Sokka, coming to stand next to her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mm, they’re both thirteen, so I’d give a year or two.” she responded. They looked at each other and laughed. It was </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> amusing to see how long the two teens had been dancing around each other. And even more amusing to see who would win the multiple bets placed on them daily. Sokka slung an arm around Moira’s shoulders and she returned the gesture as they walked down the hall and entered the large dining room, made specifically for the large gatherings that the Gaang had often. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I found the straggler.” claimed Sokka, gesturing to Moira. Everyone lightly cheered and she laughed as she sat down next to Toph. Breakfast proceeded, a large, hearty meal of eggs, sea prunes (much to Aang’s disgust), fried rooster-pig, and various other culinary delights from around the Four Nations. When they were all finished eating, Aang suggested that whoever needed to should start packing, then they could do some family wide sparring, one of their favorite ways to pass the time. The Beifongs, The Royal Family ( Zuko and co.), and Sokka went to pack, taking up a good hour. Then the fun began.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know this is a really, really short one, but I wanted to have the whole family sparring thing as a separate chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Still. Do. Not. Own. ATLA. Sorry.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Ch.3</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so you know the rules! Hand-to-hand combat and bending are both allowed, like benders will fight against each other, and try not to severely hurt each other. I suppose a couple cuts and bruises are kinda inescapable. Also, everyone knows these competitions go well into the night, so if anyone gets tired, that’s perfectly fine. Just stay off the grounds.” Aang announced. He then proceeded to read off the pairings for round one. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, we have Waterbenders, Katara and Kya. Firebenders, Moira and Izumi. Airbenders, Me and Tenzin. Earthbenders, Toph and Lin. Non-Benders, Suki and Sokka. And last, but not least, our young ladies against their adult bending counterparts. Meaning, Izumi, Lin, and Kya against Moira, Toph, and Katara. First up, Waterbenders!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara and Kya made their way to the ice platform Aang had raised from the ground and fell into bending stances across from each other. They circled like hungry sharks waiting for blood. Aang called it and they shot forward at each other. Kya encircled her body with tiny shards of ice, replacing them as fast as she was shooting them. Katara deflected each tiny piece, tossing them to the ground around her. She pulled a huge blob of water from the ocean behind Kya, using only tiny flicks of her wrist, so small that not even Toph could detect them. She directed the water over Kya’s head, then stopped in front of her daughter. Kya saw what she thought was an opening and started hurling ice at her mom. Katara tossed her head, left and right, the ice obeying her commands. She quickly and suddenly brought the ice down over both of them, freezing it so quickly, Kya couldn’t bend it away. Katara remembered that she hadn’t taught Kya to bend without her arms or legs yet, and used that to her advantage. She repeated the technique she performed on Azula, melting the water around her body so she could pull a strand of seaweed from the ice and bind her daughter’s legs and arms. She melted all the ice around them and Kya gasped for breath. She stared incredulously at her mother, who had her arms crossed over her chest and a smug smile on her face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How...did you...do...that?” she asked. Katara grinned and started to unwind the seaweed from  around her daughter’s feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I haven’t taught you how to bend without your limbs yet, have I?” she said. Kya thought for a second, then shook her head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I can. So I used a technique I’ve used only once before, knowing it would catch you off guard.” explained Katara. Kya slapped her forehead with her unbound hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why didn’t I think of that?!” she said. Katara smiled and kissed her daughter’s cheek. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay. This just shows that  we need to work on a little more training.” she said, pulling her daughter into a one armed hug. Kya smiled and they walked back to where everyone was sitting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, Katara wins!” called Aang. “Next, Firebenders!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Moira and Izumi took their places. Moira predicted that Izumi would take the first shot, and take it she did. She blasted a firefist directly at her face, yet it went soaring past Moira and nearly hit Aang. He ducked quickly and yelled out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, now! No hitting the referee!” he called. Izumi winced, then realized her hit had been aimed directly at Moira’s face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aunt Momo?” she asked. Moira shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guess your aim’s a little off.” she smirked. Zuko frowned. Izumi’s aim was never off. Moira must have been doing something. He paid close attention to his former student as each one of his daughter's attacks went flying past her. She didn’t make a move. Then Izumi sent a wall of fire at her. Zuko was sure she would have to at least move to avoid it. But she didn’t. She simply stood there as the fire separated and slid past her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“WHAT?!” The Fire Lord and The Fire Princess shouted at the same time. Moira smiled. Izumi started throwing fire in every direction. Moira twirled and shifted her weight from one side of her body to the other, dodging and deflecting every attack. She finally crouched down and started throwing punches of fire. But it was as if she was pulling the fire from the ground! She was simply raising her fist and the fire was coming up as well. Then she jumped up, jets of white fire shooting out of her feet to boost her. She fell to the ground with her fists landing on the ice, strips of fire beelining it for Izumi and wrapping themselves around her ankles. The ice around her feet melted and she sank into a puddle of water. Moira pulled her fire whips from Izumi’s feet and looped them around her wrists, then snapped them back, forcing the Princess to bend over backwards. Moira yanked the whips forward and flipped the young woman over, out of bounds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh-oh! Looks like you’re out of bounds, which means…” she tapped her finger on her chin.”Oh! I win.” she said, leaning towards Izumi. She grinned and helped her fellow Firebender up. Zuko ran down from the stands and grabbed Moira’s shoulders, turning her towards him. She grinned at his stunned face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did you..I mean that was amazing, but how was….you...You never pulled anything like that when I taught you!” he said. She nodded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mm-hm. I didn’t know Toph yet. Or Katara, or Aang.” she said. Upon seeing his befuddled expression, she stepped back and counted her attacks on her fingers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One, I just stood there and used the air around me to deflect the fire. I waited until the fire got close to me, then I dried out the air and heated it up. The quick change caused the fire to repel. That’s a very advanced firebending move. Two, when she started throwing all those punches after the wall, I spun, using the momentum to shift my weight away from the attacks. Airbending move. Three, I jumped and landed with the weight of my body pulled forward so I could force my power out of my fists, forcing them hard on the ground to jumpstart that. Earthbending. Last, I used the whips, which is an easy way to control a large amount of power in a small amount of  space and use a small amount of energy. Waterbending move. It’s like Uncle Iroh says. ‘We can gain wisdom from all four nations.’ “ she explained. Zuko started to say something, but was interrupted by a blur of green, brown and black knocking Moira on her back. When it stopped moving, the blur became Toph, straddling Moira’s hips. She grinned, forcing her lips onto Moira’s in a rough, bruising kiss. Moira’s eyes widened before fluttering closed. They stayed like that for a second, then pulled back and smiled (ignoring Sokka’s gags and “Oogies!!”). Moira sat up and Toph slid back onto the Firebender’s legs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was awesome!! I told you learning that stuff wasn’t a waste of time!” she exclaimed. Moira rolled her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I guess it wasn’t. But you forcing me to get up at the crack of dawn and spar for a minimum of 30 minutes a day helped too.” she said. They stood up and walked back to their seats, their entwined fingers swaying between them.  Aang shook his head to stop staring (it had always caught him off guard when Toph would do something like that in front of everyone) and cleared his throat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, okay! Next, Me and Ten!” he said. He floated down from his crudely bent ref post and joined his son on the platform. They both surrounded themselves in balls of air, then shot smaller balls through the barricades, trying to reach the holes the other was making in their barricade. Aang finally got one through Tenzin’s hole and knocked the boy over. He quickly lifted himself up, then pulled off an amazing feat. He floated above the platform on a cloud of air, then rapidly spun the cloud underneath him. He spread his arms and legs out like a starfish and spun towards his dad. Aang was so dazed by the airbending technique that he didn’t realize what Tenzin was doing until feet and fists were rapidly whacking his chest. He held his ground like any good Earthbender would, and deflected each of Tenzin's limbs by shoving each of them back onto the cloud of air with a quick chi blocking jab and a small gust of air. Completely chi blocked, Tenzin fell to the ground. Aang cushioned him with a bit of air and stood above him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does this mean I win?” he asked. Tenzin scowled and his father helped him up. He wobbled a bit from the chi blocking, but was able to get to his seat. Aang flew back to his post and read off the next pairing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, another mother-daughter pair, Toph and Lin!” he called. The two Earthbenders walked out on the grounds and took their places. Their fight was over quickly. Threw a couple pieces of provided metal and rock at each other, Lin managed to pin Toph down, then Toph bound Lin up with metal cords and hung her from her hands on a piece of ice. That….was how it usually went. Sometimes quicker, sometimes they stalled a little, but Toph almost always won. There were a couple times when she’d been off of her game, or Lin was super focused, or Lin just got lucky, and Toph would lose, but not often. Toph carefully let her daughter down and they went back to the seats. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, last match before the three-on-three, Sokka and Suki!” called Aang. Sokka slid his sword out of the sheath and Suki drew her fans. Aang called out and the fight began. Suki decided to go with the distracting technique and fanned Sokka in the face, forcing him to close his eyes so she could strike him across the back of his knees with her other fan. He fell to the ground, but slid and caught her feet with the flat side of the sword. They were both on the ground now. Suki twirled around and got back to her feet easily, meanwhile Sokka kept slipping on the ice. He finally got up and sword met fan over, and over, and over again. Suki finally knocked Sokka’s sword out of his hand and twisted his hands behind his back. She pulled out his hair tie and bound his hands with it. She tried to get his feet too, but he backflipped over her, his long hair whipping as he caught her topknot with the heel of his boot and yanked back, forcing her to bend over backwards. He turned around and threw his arms around her body, pinning her arms to her sides so she couldn’t use the fans. He slid his sword over with his foot and used the tip of it to cut the hair tie, careful not to touch Suki with it. But this let her yank her arms out from under his and whack seven different places on his body with her heavy metal fans, rendering him helpless. He pouted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, come on! Chi blocking shouldn't be allowed.” he whined. Suki rolled her eyes and helped him over to the stands. The sun was gone and the almost full moon was illuminating the competition grounds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, last one!” called the Avatar. “Moira, Toph, and Katara, versus Izumi, Lin, and Kya.” The ladies walked and took their places on opposite sides of the ice platform. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, little ladies!” called Aang. The older women glared daggers at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Watch it.” growled Toph. Aang sheepishly smiled and shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, </span>
  <em>
    <span>ladies</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he said, sticking his tongue out at the older three. “You have ten minutes to strategize. Go!” The girls crowded into their groups and started whispering amongst themselves. </span>
</p><p>
  <b>Older: Bold is Katara, </b>
  <em>
    <span>Italics is Moira, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and normal is Toph.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are we doin’, girls?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I just know that Lin’s gonna take the action route. She is our daughter, after all.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, yeah...but the other two won’t.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>“True. Here, what about this? Okay, so we know Lin will most likely be the front line of offence. She </b>
  <b>
    <em>is</em>
  </b>
  <b> an Earthbender. I’m pretty sure Kya will take the defence. That’s what Waterbenders do. And Izumi’s a bit of a wild card, right M?”</b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well, kind of. But the reason she’s like that is she’s the brains of the three. She’ll come up with whatever plan they play out. And no one really knows what she’s going to do every time. She could decide they’ll try to attack us until our defenses go down a bit, then give all their strength, they could wait it out, they could do anything when they’ve got her mind on their side.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, and our dynamics are pretty much the same. Moira’s the brains, I’m the brawn, and Katara’s the shield, so to speak. So if we come up with a good plan, and have some good bending to back it up, we should be good!”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Of course you would say that. It’s not that easy, babe. If we have a good plan, and some good bending, we’re simple, and easy to predict. We’ve got to think of something that’ll throw them a curveball.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>“Moira’s right. We should probably do something like what Toph wants, then pull out some never-before-seen stunts and knock their socks off!”</b>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>“ YEAH!” </em>
  </b>
  <span>(that’s all three of them)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Younger: Bold is Kya, </b>
  <em>
    <span>Italics is Izumi, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and normal is Lin</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Okay, okay, okay. So we know that your moms and Aunt Moira are pretty simple, right? I mean, I know that Aunt Toph will most likely go the violent route….well, as violent as she can get without hurting us.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope. Mom would still hurt us. Not badly, but a couple cuts and bruises. She and Momma are WAAAAAAY competitive. Momma’s usually there to keep Mom in check, but it’s still….eh, rough.”</span>
</p><p>
  <b>“Well. Umm….scary. “</b>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kinda, but I love ‘em. Su on the other hand….she’s just a little terror.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Okay, we’re getting off track here. Our parents and Aunts are pretty basic. So we can expect them to be all bending, right?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>“Yeah.”</b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“They may come up with a simple plan, though. So we better have a great one. What about this? What if we pull out a simple plan as well, than bring out the new bending techniques we’ve been working on! Lin, you came up with your ocean thing, right?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“And Kya, you’ve got your crystals?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>“Mhm. I finally figured it out last week.”</b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Okay, good. I figured out my fire rods a while ago, but I just perfected it two days ago. Sounds like we’re good!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang walked over to the stands and leaned in close. Su, Sokka, Suki, and Zuko all did the same. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My post is in the perfect position to hear both of them, and it seems like they’ve both got the same plan. We’ll just have to see how this plays out. Oop, time’s up, girls!” he called. The younger ones broke immediately, but the other three were doing something. They had their arms around each other and their heads close. All of a sudden they each called something out in turn. (The rules for the planning group still apply, Bold is Katara, Normal is Toph, and Italics is Moira. The GIRLS part is all of them. I know it looks like just Katara and Moira, but Toph's there too!)</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Core..”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“..Four..”</span>
</p><p>
  <b>“..Gaang..”</b>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>“GIRLS!” </em>
  </b>
  <span> They threw their heads back and laughed at everyone’s startled faces. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Say what?” asked Sokka. Which set them off further. Aang finally chuckled and got them to calm down so they could start the fight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ready...Set...Bend!!” called Aang. The fighting started immediately and everyone was calling and whooping for their chosen team. Sokka and Zuko seemed to want the older girls to win, and Suki and Su wanted the younger ones to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lin started throwing chalk discs provided for the Earthbenders, and Toph countered them with walls of stone raised from the ocean floor and shot towards her daughter. Kya and Katara seemed to be having a one on one fight with ice flying everywhere. Moira and Izumi were fighting with firefists and slice kicks of multiple varieties. All of a sudden, the younger girls stepped back from their fights and lined up on the ice. The older women looked at each other in confusion. One by one, the girls pulled out their secret weapons. They went in the order they lined up in. Kya froze the air into barely visible crystals that surrounded the entire platform. Izumi looked like she was going to lightning bend, but created two, long sticks of pure fire instead. Lin raised a giant stone ball from the ocean and held the dripping rock over the ice. Izumi threw her sticks on opposite sides of the older girls and flicked her hands. The rods became elongated and wrapped in a circle around Toph, Moira, and Katara, melting the ice into a big circle under them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lin!” she called. The young Earth girl brought the huge stone ball over their heads and Toph scoffed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really, baby? You think you can drop that on our heads and I </span>
  <em>
    <span>won’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>shatter it?” she asked. Lin smirked, as this was all part of their plan. She would pretend to try to intimidate her mother, then Toph would shatter the ball. It was perfect. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Toph raised her arms and pulled the rock into hundreds of pieces, she saw the smirk on her daughter’s face and frowned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your turn, Kya.” she said. Toph put her arms down, in confusion, releasing the layer of stone that she had been holding up. All of a sudden, a sheet of water fell on them! The ball had been filled with water!! Kya directed all of the frozen crystals into the water, flash freezing it into a huge dome around the older women. The younger three stood in their line and high fived, smugly smiling at their mothers and Moira. The Firebender melted the dome around them and shook her head at Izumi, smiling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Much, much better.” she said. The Princess beamed. They walked back to the group. They chatted as they walked back to Appa. Aang launched everyone into the saddle and boosted himself onto the sky bison’s head. They started off, away from the deserted island they used for their bending competitions. Moira leaned her head on Toph’s chest and ran her fingers through Lin’s long black hair. Su had fallen asleep the second her head hit Sokka’s lap. Moira fell asleep that night with her daughter in her lap, her head on her wife, and all her friends surrounding her. It was great. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay, so I just thought I should make this clear. Mom is Toph, Momma is Moira. Just clarifying! Next chapter will be a flashback of how Moira met the Gaang.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you were wondering how Moira met our Gaang, here ya go.<br/>If you weren't, please read it still.<br/> And I DO own....nah, jk, I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>12 YEARS BEFORE ATLA TAKES PLACE:</p><p>“Master. Mistress.” The doctor bowed as he entered the room. Lao Beifong returned the bow and squeezed his wife’s hand a bit. </p><p>“Dr. Fenang. How is our baby?” he asked. The doctor smiled a little.</p><p>“I’m sure you’ll be glad to know the young <em> lady </em> is well.” Poppy smiled. She had been hoping for a girl. The doctor struggled to maintain his positive demeanor. “But there’s something wrong. THe girl is...blind.” he said, his face finally dropping. Poppy gasped.</p><p>“Are you positive?” asked Lao. The doctor solemnly nodded. The new father rubbed the small beard on his chin. </p><p>“It would be a disgrace to have a disabled child in high society...but we cannot do anything about it. She’s our daughter, for Spirit’s sake! We can’t just get rid of her. We’ll just have to keep her hidden.” he muttered. Poppy leaned into his shoulder and quietly cried. </p><p>“The decision has been made, Doctor. The announcement of her birth will be canceled.” the wealthy Earth man said. “Now may we please meet our daughter?” The doctor nodded and went to gather the girl. </p><p>“Darling? To move away from this rather depressing subject, what shall we name her?” Poppy looked up and thought  for a moment. </p><p>“Since she just died, what if we honored grandmother by giving our child her name? Toph Leilange?” she asked. Lao smiled and nodded. </p><p>“It’s a very beautiful and proper name. Toph Leilange Beifong. We’ll do it.” Poppy smiled as her daughter was brought in by the midwife. The tiny girl was laid in her mother’s arms. Black fuzz coated her head and tiny lids opened to reveal creamy green eyes. Her pupils were gray, light. Not the right color. But Poppy didn’t care. She kissed the child’s tiny button nose and whispered in her ear. </p><p>“Welcome, Toph.”</p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>2 YEARS LATER</p><p>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>Moira was born. She was here, but she came at a price. Her mother was dying, rapidly. The doctors were doing everything they could, but Dae Mu told them to stop. He laid his daughter in his wife’s arms and leaned close. She whispered something in his ear, and he nodded, then kissed her one more time. Two shaking breaths passed between them, one for the last time, one because of tears. The young father took his baby and pressed her forehead against her mother’s cold lips. He took the child into the nursery and dressed her in a pale red onesie. He dismissed the doctors and rocked her to sleep, then laid her in her crib. He then walked over to his wife, hung his head, and cried.</p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>10 YEARS LATER</p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>Moira cried and sweeped her thumb over her father’s cheek. </p><p>“Why, Daddy? What happened?” she asked. He smiled at her concern. </p><p>“I wasn’t careful with the sword I was making and I poked myself in the neck. I knew from the second I did it, I wouldn’t live much longer. That’s why I called for you. Moira, my love. My little lightning. When your mother died, she told me to get you the best firebending training. Well, I didn’t do a very good job at that, did I? So what I want you to do is, pack up. Clothes, food, whatever else you think you many need. Go out and find a good- no, great -firebending teacher for yourself, okay? Listen to him or her well, be respectful, and be kind. I love you, darling.”</p><p>“I love you, too Daddy. I’ll miss you.”</p><p>“As will I, my dear. But you have to be strong. Be my little lightning.”</p><p>“I will.”</p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>3 YEARS AFTER</p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>Moira walked through the bushes of the large estate. </p><p>‘<em> Where am I? What is this place?’ </em>the thirteen-year-old wondered. She stepped onto flat stone and immediately recognized it as the place’s training grounds. </p><p>“Well, I need to practice. Spirits know my self-taught Firebending is crap.” she muttered, falling into a stance. She threw a couple wild firefists, then shot her leg up in a sloppy curve, resulting in a crooked slice of yellow fire. </p><p>“GRRRR!!” she screeched, flames nearly bursting out of her lips.  “Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!! I cannot freaking firebend!!! AAAAAAHHEEE!!!” She yelled. She shot huge jets of white fire everywhere. She heard heavy footsteps, and LOTS of them. She stopped throwing her flames and stared at the guards clothed in gear the color of onyx and dry blood. </p><p>“Who are you?” one of them asked. </p><p>“Moira Okiye.” she stated. They looked at each other and shrugged. No one knew who this ragged looking girl was.</p><p>“What are you doing in the Royal Palace training grounds?” another asked. Her eyes widened.</p><p>“This is the Palace?” she asked. They nodded. “Oh, no.” she said. She spun around and fire enveloped her arms, creating a circle of white-hot flames that attacked the waists of the guards. They shouted and jumped back, calling out for reinforcements. </p><p>“No need, men.” said a calm, yet gravelly voice from behind the girl. She turned around and saw a tall man with a dull red scar on the left side of his face. His long robes were lined with gold and tall, layered spikes sat on his shoulders. The front half of his long black hair was pulled into a tight topknot and the rest fell down his back. The soldiers immediately dropped to one knee with their palms to their chest and bowed their heads.</p><p>“Fire Lord Zuko.” the captain said. Zuko nodded. </p><p>“Why, may I ask, Captain, are you harassing this beautiful young lady?” he asked. The captain scrunched his face up at ‘beautiful’, like he just smelt platypus-bear droppings. </p><p>“Um, she was trespassing on castle grounds and attacked us.” he replied, his head still bowed. Zuko crossed his arms and tilted his head, looking at the girl from head to toe. Long, dirty auburn hair fell in curls down her back and across her shoulders. A short, ragged crimson dress clung to her knees and arms and rust colored boots sported holes along the sides and toes. He walked closer and noticed a Fire Nation pendant hanging from a silver chain around her neck. He recognized the pendant as the symbol that was given to the men that stayed in their homes and made weapons for the front line soldiers. But there was something else about the pendant that caught his eye. </p><p>“Miss…”</p><p>“Moira Okiye.”</p><p>“Miss Okiye. Would you happen to know if your father made weapons?” he asked. She thought for a second, then nodded.</p><p>“Uh, yeah. He made a bunch of swords and stuff like that, then shipped them off to the soldiers at war.” she confirmed. Zuko nodded again.</p><p>“That’s what I thought. Would you like to come inside?” he asked, barely looking down at the tall girl. Her eyes widened at the thought of being invited into the Royal Palace. She quickly nodded. </p><p>“Right. Okay, I need to have a chat with my guards, but you can go in that door right there and ask for Fire Lady Suki. Tell them you are a special guest of the Fire Lord.” he instructed. She nodded and briskly walked to the door he pointed to. She walked in the door and found herself in front of two large guards. They looked down at her and she smiled. </p><p>“I am a special guest of Fire Lord Zuko and wish to speak with Lady Suki.” she said, pulling out her sweet girl voice. The two guards looked at each other, then shrugged and rang a small bell. </p><p>“Yes?” a kind voice said. One of the guards pulled a small horn shaped thing from the wall. </p><p>“Lady Suki, there is a young girl sent by your husband for you.” he answered. </p><p>“Just a moment.” she said. A few minutes later, a beautiful young lady with red hair and dressed in a long green dress with black and red armor and a red sash. Her face fell when she saw the girl.</p><p>“Oh, dear. How did you get like this, my darling?” she asked. Moira scrunched up her face. </p><p>“My mother died the day after I was born and my father died three years ago. He accidentally punctured his neck with one of the swords he was making. I’ve been on my own ever since.” she said. Suki stuck her bottom lip out. </p><p>“Well, we’ll have to fix that, won’t we? Come on. I think I’ve got an outfit that will fit you.” she said, taking the girl’s hand. She led her through the doors and they went to her room.</p><p>
  <em> Meanwhile: </em>
</p><p>Zuko looked frantically at his guards. </p><p>“Do you know who Dae Mu Okiye was?” he asked. They shook their heads. </p><p>“He was the greatest swordsman in the entire world! No one in the Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, or Water Tribe could top his swords! He died three years ago due to an accident with a very sharp and hot sword. I didn’t know he had a daughter!! I would have found her a home immediately! Goodness, she looked so bad! Oh, I really hope Kiki can find something for her.” he said. </p><p>“Sir, how did you know it was Dae Mu’s daughter?” asked the captain. </p><p>“The pendant she wore. It was the symbol that was given to men who crafted swords for the soldiers. But there was something special about the one given to Dae Mu. The pendant itself was made from solid gold and the engraving had a small depiction of the Fire Lord’s hairpiece in the corner. That same depiction was in the corner of hers. I’m assuming her father gave her the pendant before he died.” he informed. The captain nodded and the guards returned to their posts. Zuko walked inside and the doors were opened for him. He went to his room and found Suki exiting the bathroom with Moira's clothes and shoes. He sighed with relief.</p><p>“So I’m guessing that means you found her some clothes?” he said. She nodded and placed the clothes in the trash. </p><p>“Yeah. I found an outfit I used to wear when The Kyoshi Warriors would have parties. I used to wear it when I was, like 15 and 16, but with her height, it should be a perfect fit.” she said. Zuko nodded and flopped on the bed. </p><p>“So you realized she’s Dae Mu’s daughter, right?” she asked. He sat up and nodded. </p><p>“I also know she’s unaware of the fact that her father is one of the most popular people in the Four Nations. We have to keep that from her. She doesn’t need to know. If she does, I’m afraid she’ll never make any sort of friends. Most people don’t want their children playing with a master swordsman’s daughter.” he said. She nodded. </p><p>“That’s a good idea. She was chatting non-stop about how cool it was to meet you. She said no one ever taught her Firebending, so she tried to do it herself and that didn’t go well. I was helping her, and there’s so many scars and burns all over her body, Zuzu. I’m not sure if she’s going to be okay.” informed the Fire Lady, coming to sit next to her husband. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and rubbed her arm. </p><p>“She’ll be fine. She made it this long.” he said. She looked at him and smiled, then reached up and kissed him. They heard the bathroom door open and turned to see Moira in her new clothes. Her now-brushed hair shone like silk and was up in two braided buns with a single curl hanging from each bun. The silky green top with two gold fans overlapping each other on the chest fit like a dream and the red leggings with gold dragons made her legs look even taller. A  golden skirt rippled along her hips and hung down to about six inches below her knees. She twirled around and kicked up her feet to show off the brown combat boots with green laces and gold on the toes. </p><p>“Whaddya you think?” she asked. Suki smiled and gave her two thumbs up.</p><p>“It looks great.” Zuko grinned. She smiled and ran forward to give them both a huge hug. They looked at each other, then hugged the young teen back. She stepped back and blushed a little. She fiddled with one of the loose curls and pivoted her foot on the toe. </p><p>“Lord Zuko?” she asked. </p><p>“Yes?” he replied. </p><p>“I was wondering if...if you would be willing to teach me some better Firebending? I’m not very good and I would be extremely honored to be taught by the Fire Lord.” she said, ducking her head a little. Zuko was taken aback. This girl had guts! Most people would never have asked him in person. A letter or messenger would have been sent for the person asking. </p><p>“You know what? I would love to.” he replied. She squealed a little and hugged him again. This time he squeezed her back immediately. </p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>2 YEARS LATER</p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>“Zuko? What are you doing?” asked the fifteen year old. Moira had ended up staying in the Palace with Zuko and Suki for two years, becoming their unofficial honorary daughter. </p><p>“Packing.”</p><p>“Where you going?”</p><p>“Republic City.”</p><p>“Isn’t that where your friends live?”</p><p>“Mm-hm. Aang just turned 18, so he and Katara are getting married. They invited me.”</p><p>“Is Suki not going?”</p><p>“You know she can’t. The baby is due in three weeks. The doctor ordered her to stay put.”</p><p>“Yeah. Can I come?”</p><p>“Well….sure. You’ve never met Katara, Aang, Toph, or Sokka, now that I think about it. Also, it’ll give us some new training grounds.”</p><p>“YAY!” Thank you, Zuko!” She ran forward and hugged him tight. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. He realized he no longer had to bend down to do it, either.</p><p>“Dang, girl! You’re almost as tall as me! I swear, you’ve GOT to be related to Avatar Kyoshi somehow. She was ginormous!” he said. She pulled back and grinned. </p><p>“I don’t think so. Wasn’t she Earth Kingdom?” she said. </p><p>“Well, yes, but her wife was Fire Nation. Rangi Sei’naka, I think.” </p><p>“Hmm. Dunno. Well, I’d better get packing. When are we leaving, and for how long?”</p><p>“Two and a half hours, and 10 days.”</p><p>“M’kay!” The teenager skipped down the hall with excitement. She was ecstatic! She had wanted to meet Toph Beifong for years! Not only was she her favorite of the Gaang, but she was supposed to be beautiful. Moira had realized she was attracted to both men and women about a year ago and her honorary family had been nothing but supportive. She wanted to know if she had a chance with the (supposedly) cute Earthbender. They were only two years apart, after all. She just hoped the Earthbender wasn’t straight. Who knew? </p><p>She pulled four of her favorite shirts out of her closet and three dresses. She grabbed three one-pieces, two pairs of leggings, and two skirts. She plucked three pairs of shoes off the floor and wrapped them in a rag to keep them from dirtying the rest of her clothes. She got the necessary care products needed and stuffed them in her suitcase. Three books, her kalimba, and a crochet project she was working on and she was good to go. She took a quick nap, then they left. </p><p> </p><p>They got to Republic City and Zuko walked out onto the docks after thanking the captain of the ship. Moira stayed behind to talk to one of the sailors. He walked down the wooden planks to meet the small group of people waiting for him. </p><p>“Hey! Sparky!” called Toph. Sokka, Katara, and Aang looked in the </p><p>direction she was pointing and called out to him, making him walk a little faster. He caught up with them and pulled them into a huge group hug. They pulled away and started conversing, until Zuko remembered why he had two suitcases in his hand. </p><p>“Oh, you guys. I want you to meet someone. I didn’t tell you about her yet. Not sure why…” he said, trying to think of a reason. He couldn’t think of one. “Anyway, she’s SO excited to meet you guys. Especially you, Toph. Moira!!” he called, ignoring their confused faces. A young teen came running onto the landing port, but couldn’t stop soon enough and teetered off the edge she screeched as she plummeted towards the ocean. Aang shot a platform of air over to her and caught her, then set her down on the dock. She ran towards them, darting and weaving expertly through the sailors. </p><p>“Damn! That girl’s got some speed! And agility, for that matter.” said Sokka. </p><p>“Yeah, she’s always been like that. Or, at least, she was like that when I met her.” he said. She caught up to them. She caught herself on Zuko’s shoulder and Toph’s eyes widened as she felt the girl’s height. She was as tall as Zuko! Almost, anyways. </p><p>“Sorry, Zuko. I got caught up talking to that girl. She was kinda hot, you know.’ she muttered. Zuko smacked his forehead with his palm. </p><p>“You have got to stop that! This is the third time this week you’ve found some guy or girl and been late for something because you were talking to them. Stop it!” he said. She grinned at him.</p><p>“Well, it’s better than the times you’ve been late to meetings because you were making out with Suki.” she said. He blushed bright red, his heart sped up and Moira and Toph laughed out loud at the exact same time, almost the same way. They stopped and looked at each other. Moira grinned and bowed. </p><p>“Master Beifong, Avatar Aang, Master Katara, and Councilman Sokka. I am Moira Okiye.” she said. Aang and Katara smiled and returned the bow. </p><p>“Miss Okiye.” they said. They straightened and Sokka shook Moira’s hand. </p><p>“Welcome to Republic City!” he said. She nodded at him and turned back to Zuko. </p><p>“Okay, okay, okay! Can we go now? I want to see the training grounds you were talking about.” she said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Zuko chuckled and nodded. She squealed and shot forward, past the group and to the end of the dock. She turned around and looked at them impatiently. </p><p>“Well, come on!” she called waving them towards her. Zuko shook his head and they started walking towards the energetic teen. They reached Appa and set off to Air Temple Island. Toph scooched towards Zuko, away from Moira, who was going to fall off the edge of the saddle any second, she was leaning over so far. </p><p>“So. How old is she?” asked Toph. </p><p>“15” replied Zuko. “And she may or may not have a huge crush on you. And no, she does not know that you’re Bi.” Toph blushed a little and nodded. She was suddenly eager to get back to the ground so she could ‘see’ this Moira. Apparently, they were only two years apart, and both Bisexual. Hm.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Well, there ya go! That's how Toph and Moira met! Next chapter will be their romantic journey, and that's an adventure in itself. It always is with Toph.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Still don't own Avatar. I do own Moira, and Suyin's chaos. Both of those are my creation.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <ol>
<li>The night after they met, Toph snuck into the Firebender’s room. She had opened the door silently and Moira seemed to not notice her. Until…</li>
</ol><p>“Hey, Toph.” she said, without looking up from the sheet music she was studying. </p><p>“How’d you..” Toph asked. Moira looked up and shrugged. </p><p>“I can feel the heat coming from people’s bodies. It’s kinda like how you feel the vibrations of movement through the earth.”</p><p>“Of course Sparky would teach you something like tha-”</p><p>“Zuko didn't teach me.”</p><p>“What? You mean you learned something as advanced and complicated as that on your own?”</p><p>“Well, I didn’t know it was anything special, but yeah. “</p><p>“Are you freaking kidding me?! Not even Iroh could do that!”</p><p>“Mm, I don’t know about that.”</p><p>“No, trust me, he tried. Let’s just say that building is a pile of ashes now.”</p><p>Moira laughed and put the papers down. She patted the floor next to her and Toph sat down as Moira picked up a wooden instrument and used her thumbnails to pluck out a few notes on the metal tines. Toph jerked away from it and her eyes widened. </p><p>“Woah. What is <em> that </em>?” she asked. Moira chuckled at her startled reaction and plucked a few more notes. </p><p>“It’s a kalimba.” she said. </p><p>“What’s that?”</p><p>“It’s an instrument that you play by flicking your thumbnails on these metal pieces. Ah, no. Stop.” she said as the metal bars started to twist. Toph groaned and straightened the tines. “ ‘Cause if you do that, I can’t do this.” she said, then started flicking the metal again. The notes got higher, then two were played at once. The same was repeated in a higher and higher pitch four times, the last time accompanied by two soft plucks. Then, a repeat of four descending notes was done four times. </p><p>“F, E, F, C, F, E, FEC, F, E, F, C, F, E, FEC” muttered the Firebender as she played the corresponding notes. She played the four descending notes another four times, then played eight notes getting higher and stopped. Toph’s eyes widened and she smiled. </p><p>“That was great.” she said. Moira grinned and shoved the instrument in Toph’s hands. </p><p>“Here, you try.” she said. Toph shook her head. </p><p>“I can’t see the pieces, even if they are metal. The base is wood. “ she said. Moira scooched closer and wrapped her arms around Toph’s, making the Earthbender blush. </p><p>“Well, then I’ll help you. “ she said, placing her hands on top of Toph’s. She absentmindedly noted that the girl’s hands were smaller than hers, and softer, too. Moira’s callouses caught slightly on Toph’s knuckles as she moved their hands to pluck out a few notes, slowly repeating the gentle song Moira just played. After playing it a couple times, Moira removed her hands from Toph’s and her fingers moved on their own, flicking the notes out from muscle memory. Moira glanced at Toph’s face and blushed as her heart skipped a beat. The girl’s features were relaxed and gentle, softly mouthing the notes as she played them. Moira vaguely noticed that her palms were still resting on Toph’s legs, but she didn’t seem to care, so she left them there. </p><p> </p><p>They played for about an hour and a half, Moira teaching Toph every song she knew and then they worked on a new song together. Then Toph noticed the time and said she should go back to her own room. She got up and started to leave, but stopped and turned. </p><p>“Hey, umm...do you...wanna do this again? Tomorrow night?” she asked. Moira nodded. </p><p>“I’d love to.” Toph smiled and walked out of the room, leaving Moira slightly questioning what just happened.</p><p> </p>
<ol>
<li>Zuko gathered everyone but Moira and Toph in the living room. The former had taken the latter shopping. Well, more like forced her…</li>
</ol><p>“Okay, we need to come up with a plan to get Moira and Toph together. They’ve been dancing around each other for almost a week, and we’re not going to be here for much longer, so we’ve got to get them to at least <em> kiss </em>.” he said. Everyone else muttered in agreement. “So any ideas?”</p><p>They sat and pondered for a moment, then Aang snapped his fingers. </p><p>“The wedding! If we can get them alone at the wedding, maybe <em> something </em>will happen?” he said. Everyone else agreed. </p><p>“But how do we do that?” asked Katara. </p><p>“What if...what if we ‘accidentally’ told them to go out somewhere, like a balcony or something, and they end up stuck together? Like, I could say to go out to….somewhere, and they end up going out there, but it’s just the two of them, sparks fly, lips meet, and we got our very first ever bisex couple in the Gaang.” proposed Sokka. </p><p>“That...could work!” said Zuko. They fine-tuned the plan, and were ready for action.</p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>After the official part of the wedding (the vows and that stuff), Sokka took Toph while Aang got Moira. </p><p>XX((00oo00))XX</p><p>Sokka casually strolled up to the short Earthbender and plucked a flower from the bush. </p><p>“Well, hello, madame.”</p><p>“What do you want, Snoozles?” she snapped. He recoiled quickly. </p><p>“Hey, what’s up?! I just wanted to talk.”</p><p>“Sorry.” she muttered. Her face softened. “I’m just...on edge, okay?” making a motion with her hands as if she was weighing something.</p><p>“Can I...why?” he asked. She shakily exhaled and a tear dripped down her bowed face. </p><p>“Moira...ugh, I think she hates me. I….hah! I don’t know what I...did, but she won’t...talk to me, or have anything to do with me. I don’t...ugh.” she drew the heel of her hand across her left eye and sighed. He pulled her into a one armed hug and she, strangely, let him. Sokka inwardly groaned. He hoped Aang was having a better time of it than him. </p><p>XX((00oo00))XX</p><p>Aang had no trouble finding Moira. She always stood out in the crowd, always wearing colors from the Kyoshi Warriors. Apparently, Suki promised her once the baby was born, she would take the kiddo and Moira to go see Kyoshi Island and Moira had been infatuated with the group of female fighters since. This time, she was leaning against the railing in a tight green dress with a pale yellow shawl made of thin tulle and silk hanging from her arms. The young teenager wore black and gold decorated training bandages on her hands and lower legs, the ones on her legs partially covered by black ankle boots. She kept her hair in her signature twin buns, a loose curl hanging from each one. She twirled one curl around her pointer finger and held a glass of fruity cocktail in the other. He shook his head at the girl’s recklessness when it came to alcohol and walked up to her. </p><p>“Don’t let Zuko see you drinking that.” he chuckled. She threw her head back and laughed out loud, a sign she was already kinda tipsy. </p><p>“He won’t, he left.” she said, her voice bobbing up and down. Yeah, she was definitely a little tipsy. Not full out drunk, but still...alcoholic. Maybe this wasn’t the best time to pull off Sokka’s plan. </p><p>“You know, Toph thinks I hate her. Dunno why, but she does. I think it has something to do with the fact that I’ve been staying away from her.” she said.</p><p>“Why are you avoiding her?”</p><p>“ ‘Cause she makes me feel funny. ” she scratched the back of her neck “And she’s so pretty, and nice, and she makes me blush.” She did exactly that. </p><p>“So...would you say you like her? Like, romantically?” he asked.</p><p>“Like her?” she snorted. “I love her.” Aang smiled, then thought for a second. </p><p>“Wait, how much have you had to drink?”</p><p>“Including this one, two.”</p><p>“Okay, the glasses are pretty small, and it’s not straight up alcohol, so we should be good, yeah, follow me.” he said. She pushed off of the railing, put down her drink, and stood up straight, then started following Aang. He glanced over his shoulder and was relieved to find she was walking straight. Okay, she wasn’t as bad as he thought. He led her to the meeting place and found Sokka talking to Toph. He walked up and Moira followed. He grabbed Sokka’s arm and looked towards Toph.</p><p>“Hey, I need Sokka for something, can you watch M, she’s a little drunk, great, thanks, bye!” said Aang, pulling Sokka away by the arm, leaving the two girls alone. They peeked around the corner, then Moira straightened up and rubbed her shoulder. </p><p>“Damn, it is not easy being drunk! Ugh, that was too hard. Why’d you make me do that?” she complained. Toph laughed. </p><p>“Because I had to distract Snoozles. Plus, Twinkle Toes is more naive, so he’d be easier to fool. Now, did you figure out what their plan is?”</p><p>“No, Aang didn’t mention it. How did you figure out they were planning something?”</p><p>“I assumed when they gathered after the ceremony and were pointing to us.”</p><p>“Hmph, yeah, that would make sense. “ Moira massaged her neck as they fell into an awkward silence. </p><p>“Hey, um, M?”</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“Did you...mean what you told Aang?” Toph asked, her voice softening to levels unknown to her (usually). Part of her wanted Moira to say no, that it was just something she told Aang to fool him, so she wouldn’t have to deal with it. But part of her wanted the Fire National to really mean it. So she could tell her she felt the same way.</p><p> </p><p>Moira blushed furiously, the hot red traveling down her neck and ears. She….kinda completely forgot the Beifong girl had incredible hearing. She tugged on her curl again and became infatuated with her boots. </p><p>“Um, yeah. I did.” she whispered. Toph took a deep breath and stepped closer to the younger girl. She slipped her hands around her waist and pulled her close. </p><p>“Good. ‘Cause this would be really awkward if you didn’t” she muttered as she placed her hand on the back of Moira’s neck and pulled the girl down into a long-awaited kiss. Moira wrapped her arms around Toph’s back and closed the almost-nonexistent space between them. </p><p> </p>
<ol>
<li>Moira and Toph had been writing to each other for nearly two and a half years, by taking thin slabs of stone and burning/carving words into it, then packaging it in clay and sending it across the Middle Ocean to each other. It wasn’t the best way, but it worked for the most part. </li>
</ol><p>But there was something better than letters. Every month, Moira would come to stay in Republic City for a week, sometimes bringing Zuko, Suki, or their daughter, Izumi, with her. Then they could kiss and fall asleep together under the same covers, and Moira would make fun of Toph’s little bracelet that she never would tell her where it came from. </p><p>Everyone had been so excited when they told them they were together. Apparently, bets had been placed (and Toph may have gone out and destroyed the yard to keep from exploding. She still punched Sokka) and a certain Air Nomad went home 60 yuans richer. </p><p>It was that week. Moira was coming. Toph was always excited, but she was even more so this time, for there was huge news to be shared. There was also news on Moira’s side, eliciting a different response, though. The Fire Nation girl had no idea how her girlfriend would react. But she was going to find out soon. </p><p>The small boat pulled out to the dock and Moira walked off the plank. She walked down the pier, but saw Toph nowhere. She immediately got worried, but told herself she must be held back at work. She <em> was </em> one of the highest ranking officers in the squad. Moira slung her bag over her shoulder and walked up to the temple. There she was met with the sight of Aang gently coaching his kids, Bumi and Kya, in meditating. 2 year old Bumi looked like he was going to pop if he didn’t get up and move, but 19 month Kya was sitting perfectly still, coping the position her dad was in as well as she possibly could. When questioned as to why he was having them start at such a young age, Aang explained that as soon as they were a year old in the Air Temples, they started learning how to meditate for small amounts of time. So that’s what he did. </p><p>Moira leaned against a turret and watched them for a few minutes, then brushed her foot along the ground. Aang peeped an eye and she put a finger to her lips. He subtly nodded and closed his eye again. She wanted to see how long it took the kids to realize she was there. The 18 year old stood there for a good 20 minutes until the session was over. </p><p>“Okay, kiddos, great job. Now go give your Aunt a hug.” said Aang, earning confused looks from the kids. They turned their heads and Moira gave a little wave when they saw her. </p><p>“Aunt Momo!!” they called, jumping up and running towards the girl. She kneeled down and enveloped the two children in a huge hug, barely staying on her feet from the impact. When they stepped back, she smiled and noticed a detail about her favorite little boy that she thought was worth mentioning. </p><p>“Bumi, did your mom give you a wolf tail?!” she asked. He reached up and tugged on the little pony tail and he grinned. </p><p>“Yeah, she did! And Uncle Sokka gave me a bumirang ! Look!” he pulled a small bone toy out of his belt and flung it over her head. She ducked as it came back, nearly clipping her top knot. </p><p>“Oof, careful there buddy.” said Aang, walking over to the little reunion. Moira stood up straight and gave the man she’d come to love as a brother a hug. </p><p>“Mm, hey Aang.” she said. </p><p>“Hi, M. I’m glad you didn’t freak when Toph wasn’t there to get you. I told her you’d go worst case scenario. “ he said. She chuckled as she pulled back and adjusted her bag strap.</p><p>“Yeah, I kinda did. But, that’s what I get for dating one of the most important people on the police squad.” she said. He laughed and clapped his hand on her shoulder. </p><p>“Oh, jeez, you sound like Katara. She’s always saying ‘that’s what she gets for marrying the avatar’ and I always remind her that she chose it. She could have married that Jet dude.” </p><p>“Oh, god no! She always said he was creepy. And Sokka hates him.”</p><p>“Yeah that’s because when we first met him, Katara had this huge crush on him. Sokka knew from the beginning that he was a little asshole, but we didn’t believe it. Well, imagine the surprise we got when he was going to flood a town of harmless people to get rid of Fire Nation soldiers.”</p><p>“Yeah! Well, hello, I thought you were hot, but really you’re a big bastard. Oh, I thought you made my best friend happy, but NOOOO you just want to kill off a whole town of people for a couple of soldiers. HAHAHA! I knew you were a stupid asshole because my little sister likes you!! And guess what, I was right!!”</p><p>“Yep, pretty much. That’s….exactly what happened, for the most part.” They laughed and noticed they had walked straight into the house without even realizing it. That happened more often than either of them wanted to admit. </p><p> </p><p>Later, Sokka came home with a certain metalbender in tow. Toph nearly barreled Moira over when she came through the door. She attacked her with a giant hug, and an equally rough kiss. We are talking about Toph, after all. Then she pulled her into their room and sat her down on the bed. </p><p>“Okay, okay, okay, close your eyes real quick.” she said. Moira looked confused, but did so. She heard metal clanking together and Toph fiddling with something. </p><p>“Okay, open!” she did so and saw a glint of gold from her girlfriend’s chest. She looked closer and…</p><p>“Oh, my spirits. WHAT?! YESSSS!! Oh my fucking god, are you kidding me? Chief?! Arghhh, you are so damn amazing!!!” she screeched, picking the smaller girl up by the waist and spinning her around. When she set her back down, she grabbed her face and pressed a searing kiss to her lips. She pulled away and Toph stood there, wide-eyed.</p><p>“Uh, wow.” she said. Moira smirked. </p><p>“You’re not the only one who can take their girlfriend’s wits away with just their lips.” she said. “But, you are the new Chief of Police? Seriously?” </p><p>“Yep.” said Toph proudly. “Haschanke retired yesterday and he needed someone to take his place, so the squad voted and picked me. You know, it’s one thing for a superior to select you for a high position, but when the majority of the people you work with pick you? Woah.”</p><p>“And when you’re practically the Fire Lord’s non-biological daughter, it gets you pretty high in the Army, too.” said Moira. </p><p>“Wait, what?” asked Toph. Moira grinned a little lopsided smile.</p><p>“Mhm.” she walked over to where she had dumped her bag on the floor and pulled out a gold, black, and red outfit. She walked back over to Toph and held the long sleeved uniform up  to her body. </p><p>“So, what do you-oh, wait. Ah, jeez.” she dropped the outfit on the bed and buried her head in her hands. </p><p>“What?” asked Toph. She looked up from her hands and smiled sheepishly.</p><p>“I...may have forgotten you were blind again.” she said. </p><p>“Spirits, M! You have known me for how long? Two and a half years? Anyway, you forget at least once every time you’re here! Jeez!”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, I know. But, babe, you do realize what this means, right?”</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>“You know, me being in the Army?”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“I’m not going to be able to come here every month. And letters will be rare. I’m not going to be able to communicate with you often.”</p><p>“Oh. Right. That’s...okay. Okay. We’ll be fine. We can do this. I know plenty of people who do the long distance thing and it works out great for them. And it’s not like you won’t contact me at all. We’ll be good”</p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p><em> Author’s Note </em>: Well, they weren’t. Moira was trying so hard to get higher up in the ranks, Toph felt left out. Ignored. But she didn’t know that Moira was focusing so hard on her work, so when she retired in a couple years, she could...well, ask Toph to marry her. And if she said yes, she wanted to be able to find them a home, and whatever else they would need. She wanted to be with Toph forever. But before she could do that, it became too much….and Toph broke up with her. </p><p>A couple months later, little Lin was born. Toph was...startled, to say the least, when she found out she was pregnant two weeks after she broke up with Kanto. She felt so bad about Lin not having a dad, and eventually got together with Sokka. Unfortunately, that didn’t last more than a year.</p><p>Six years after Lin was born, Moira married Kaji, a boy from the Academy, and had a child, Suyin. She retired from the Army, only for Kaji to die in a battle. After two years, she moved back to Republic City, but only told Sokka she was coming back. He offered to let her stay with him until she found a house, and she agreed. </p><p>This is where we continue…</p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>      4. Moira carried the bags inside while Sokka carried a sleeping Suyin up to the room they would stay in. She set the bags in the corner and made sure they weren’t taking up too much space. Sokka came down the stairs and stretched, groaning a little. </p><p>“Man, how old is she again?” he asked. </p><p>“Two.” Moira responded</p><p>“La, she’s heavy. Anyway, got everything?”</p><p>“Yep. Thank you, so, so much for letting us stay here. I’ll find some way to pay you back, I promise.”</p><p>“No need. I’m happy to help. You know, nobody else came to get you. Know what that’s about?”</p><p>“Well, um...I didn’t exactly...you know...tell them.”</p><p>“What, why?”</p><p>“I...Toph.”</p><p>“Ah.”</p><p>“You’re the only one I can really trust. Aang would say he wouldn’t tell her, but he can keep secrets about as well as Bumi can airbend. Katara would say she wouldn’t, but she’d get so nervous about me, she’d end up telling her eventually. Zuko would just tell everyone, and she’d find out. As far as everyone else knows, I’m still in the Fire Nation.”</p><p>“Okay, yeah, that makes sense. Okay, so, you hungry?”</p><p>“Well, I’m guessing you can’t cook.”</p><p>“I ca...yeah, guilty.”</p><p>“And I can’t really. So, I guess we have to go out. But then we’d have to leave Su at home…”</p><p>“Well, not necessarily. She can stay up a little, right? I mean, it’s Saturday tomorrow, so an extra hour or two won’t hurt her.”</p><p>“Mm, yeah, I guess so. Okay! Where should we go?”</p><p>“There’s this really nice place, The Happy Hibiscus, and it’s this really cool restaurant, totally kid friendly, super pretty.”</p><p>“Okay. I’ll get her up and we’ll change. I might take a shower, too, if that’s okay.” </p><p>“Mi casa, you casa.”</p><p>“Great. Thank you. So much.” And with that, she went to get herself and Su ready. </p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>After dinner, Su fell asleep on the ride home and Moira almost did. Sokka carried the kiddo inside and Moira came in and sat on the couch. She needed to rest before much longer or she would’ve collapsed. When Sokka came down and noticed her rubbing her legs and struggling to stand up, he rushed forward and gently helped her back on the couch. </p><p>“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” he asked. </p><p>“Old injury. After I retired, Kaji did something and became...extremely wanted. And not in a good way. I never found out what he did, he died before I could ask. But anyway, one night there was a raid on our village, looking for me. They found me and Su and….well, poisoned us. I got the most of it, so my body took it worse. Shirshu extract. Now, whenever I stay in one place for a long time, like a two hour restaurant trip, on top of half an hour in the car to and from, my muscles kinda go slack and I just get really weak. It’s why I haven’t been able to visit Zuko, Izumi, and Suki. The boat ride would be too long. I get my strength back eventually, but not fast enough to go from the docks to the palace in a couple of hours.” she explained. Sokka sat down next to her on the couch and laid her head down in his lap. </p><p>Moira thought about how much she was grateful for Sokka. Other than Toph, he was the one she was closest to. She told him things she’d never even told Suki and Zuko. And she told them everything! When he would come visit the Fire Nation, he’d set up a cot in her room and sleep with her, to help with the nightmares. Horrible night terrors about her father and mother. And when she’d wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat and screaming, he’d crawl up next to her and smooth back her soaked hair and sing quiet songs his mother used to sing to him. She’d press herself to his chest and cry until she fell asleep again. When she woke up at five every morning for training, she’d slip herself through his arms and pull the covers over him, being extra careful not to wake the light sleeper. He’d sometimes get up and train with her, deflecting fire fists with the shiny black blade of a sword found underneath piles of ashes after it helped save its owner. She’d block slashes of said sword with cracking whips of white fire. They’d team up to deflect bolts of blue lighting emanating from her father figure’s hands. Ever since he’d met her, he’d been close to her. Maybe he understood what it felt like to wake up in a pool of your own perspiration with images of your dying mother flashing before your eyes. Maybe he sympathized with the new girl who woke up in a flurry of tears and high pitched screams. Maybe he saw a bit of himself in her. She’d never know for sure. And then this. He’d been nothing but supportive when she said Toph had broken up with her. He’d even offered to chew her ex out. She declined, but she had no confirmation he didn’t do it anyway. </p><p>“Hey, Sokka?” She rolled over so she could see his face.</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“You remember when Zuko came in after I had one of those nightmares, the bed was soaked, and you were in bed with me and I just had my bindings and leggings on, and he thought we….”</p><p>“In my defense I told you you should put on a tank top or something!”</p><p>“I’m a firebender! I get hot, fast. It’s great for when I’m in the poles, not so great when I’m in the middle of a dormant volcano with nightmares.”</p><p>“Yeah, sure.” They laughed and Moira couldn't help but think how...happy he looked, his head thrown back with laughter, his tie still undone and slung across his neck. Carefree. </p><p>Sokka looked down and smiled when he saw how beautiful she looked. Giggles floating on pink lips, dark auburn curls spread across his lap, burnt golden eyes shining in the low candle light. He absentmindedly ran his fingers through her slightly damp hair and her breath caught. She blushed a little and fidgeted with the tip of his tie, too many crazy thoughts running through her mind. He smiled and tucked his hand underneath her head, she slid her hand around to the back of his neck, and next thing they knew, their lips were pressed together. A few minutes later, he tugged on the low, open back of her dress and she undid a couple of his shirt buttons. </p><p>“Maybe we should take this upstairs, huh?” mumbled Sokka. She nodded and he scooped her up bridal style and carried her up to his room.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay, so this is only part one. I was going to go farther, but it was already 8 pages on Google Docs, so I split it into two. Also, don't be mad at me because of the Sokka thing. I promise, they're just gonna be 'friends with benefits' for a couple months, then Moira runs into Toph, they dance around each other for a couple weeks, then Sokka tells M she should try to make amends, one thing leads to another, and Toph and Moira end up in the same bed. But the details, next time.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Part Two of the Toira Love Journey.<br/>Oh god, I just realized how long it's been since I posted. I am so, so, so, sorry. My life has been reaaaally crazy, we got a dog, so he's been all over me constantly. This is what I get for having a MALE great dane pup. I don't get why would couldn't have gotten a girl. They're more docile, right? Either way, I've been distracted, I'm so sorry, I finished this chapter, here you go.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <ol>
<li>Sokka pulled his shirt off the foot of the bed as Moira dragged her skirt out from under the bed. </li>
</ol><p>“Nine years.” she muttered. “Nine years since she ditched me.”</p><p>“Which means, three months of all this.” Sokka countered, waving his arm over the messy bed. She smiled, the reaction he was hoping for, </p><p>“Mm, that’s for sure.” she kissed him, then smirked mischievously. “Also, it’s your turn to clean up. I’m gonna go make breakfast.” </p><p>“What?!” </p><p>“Mhm. I did it last time. It’s your turn.” </p><p>“Ugh, fine.” </p><p>She walked downstairs, stopping at the door painted with green and silver on the landing. She pushed it open, chuckling at the clean room, compared to the clothes thrown on the bed and the messy lump of blankets at the top. She pulled back the blankets to reveal the shiny black head of her kid. </p><p>“Hey. Come on, Su.” she gently shook the girl’s shoulder, causing her to roll over and push her bangs out of her face so she could see her mother and grin widely. “Good morning and happy birthday, my love</p><p>“It <em> is </em> a good morning! I’m five!!” said the little girl, holding up four fingers. Moira smiled warmly and pushed up another finger. </p><p>“Oh.” said the little kid, turning her fingers to face her, then thrusting her hand back at her mother. “Five!”</p><p>“Yes, Su, you’re five today. You know what that means….”</p><p>“We get to go to the harbor!! And Sokka’s gonna take us for a boat ride!!”</p><p>“Mm-hm. But you can’t go for a boat ride until you’re fed and cleaned, okay? Which means breakfast and a bath.”</p><p>“Oooooohh, can I have smiley buns?”</p><p>“Yes. Get dressed and I’ll go make some.”</p><p>“Okay!” the little girl threw her covers off and bounded over to her dresser. Moira smiled and righted the bedspread, then headed down the stairs, coming to a stop in front of the kitchen. She smiled, then prepared the oil to make Su’s favorite breakfast treat, smiley face shaped fried sweet buns with powdered sugar on them.</p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>After giving Suyin a bath, the harbor was their destination. A couple weeks ago, Sokka had bought this little boat and Su had been begging to go for a ride on it. Moira told her that her birthday was coming up and then she would be old enough to go on a little joyride. </p><p>When they arrived, Su ran down to where the boat was moored, her green dress billowing out behind her as it caught the summer wind. Sokka followed, but his khaki shorts and button down short sleeve didn’t exactly have the same effect. Moira carried the bags down to the boat, her long red dress swirling around ankles exposed by black leather sandals. They settled on the boat and took off towards the bay, sea spray splashing their faces. Su stood in the front, her arms spread wide and her face graced with the most beautiful, genuine smile to exist. Sokka drove, smiling at the little girl as he steered around rocks and small islands. Moira sat on the ledge wrapping around the inside edge of the boat, one leg propped on the other and her hair whipping around her face. They rode around the bay for about half an hour, then decided to chill at the beach for a while. They made a sandcastle, played in the waves, just sat around and had fun. When it was lunchtime, they decided to grab some take-out and head home. Just before they left, Su called out frantic yells for her mom. Moira rushed forward to find the sand trembling in tune with her daughter’s shaking body. </p><p>“Honey, what’s wrong? What’s going on?” she yelled. Suyin shook her head, </p><p>“I don’t know!! I was playing in the sand, and it just started moving with my hands. Look!” the young girl held her hands out gingerly and pulled up abruptly, bringing rods of sand up with them. </p><p>“What….Suyin, how are you doing that?! Sokka, come here!” Moira waved him over. His jaw dropped and his eyes bugged when he saw what Su was doing. </p><p>“Su, you’re Earthbending!!! Wait, how? M, you’re a Firebender!” he said. Moira’s eyes widened and she put her hand over her mouth as she stepped back and the pieces fell into place.</p><p>“But that means….Kaji must have been an Earthbender. He may not have even been legally a Fire National at all! That would explain what he did that made him so wanted. And this.” she waved her arm over the now stilled sand. Sokka nodded and Moira picked Suyin up. </p><p>“Come on. We can get some food later. Let’s go home. We are a mess.” she said, and she wasn’t wrong. They had sea salt encrusted in their hair, sand all over their clothes, said clothes soaked. They needed to go home.</p><p>When they got there, they were exhausted. The walk home had taken any energy they had left out of them. Sokka collapsed on the floor after he took his shoes off, dropping the bags full of beach stuff on the coffee table. Moira took off Su’s shoes and took her upstairs to change and take a bath, then put her down for a nap. She came downstairs and found Sokka conked out, a teeny bit of drool running down his chin. She shook her head a bit, shifted his leg, and curled up next to him, laying her head on his chest and falling into a dreamless sleep. Soon after, Suyin snuck down the steps and tucked herself in between her mother and Sokka, cuddling in and drifting off.</p><p> </p><ol>
<li>She pulled out the spare key he had given her and unlocked the door. Her apartment was under renovation, so she had been staying at Air Temple Island until it was finished, but it was cleaning day today, so she came over to his house, just like she always did when she needed somewhere to go. </li>
</ol><p>She walked out into the hall and immediately felt three figures lying on the floor. A small child snuggled in between two adults. She walked closer, her metal armor clanking softly, but loud enough to wake up one of the adults. She ducked behind the couch, careful to move so her armor wouldn’t give away her position. </p><p>“Ah. Wha..mmph, thought I heard something...” muttered the now awake adult. She could tell it was a woman, who sounded kinda familiar, but couldn’t tell if it was someone she knew. The woman shifted and sat up. She reached out towards the adult next to her. </p><p>“Hey, Sokka...Sokka, get up.” the voice came again. Now the adult next to her, Sokka, she’d figured out by now groaned and stretched. Why was he on the floor? Who were the child and girl? What was going on that she didn’t know about.? Too many questions, not enough answers. </p><p>Turning her attention back to the group on the floor, the girl leaned down close to Sokka’s face. To kiss him, she realized, as she heard a little pop of lips being pulled apart. When did Sokka get a girlfriend? </p><p>“Hah, looks like she came down to join us.” he said, gesturing to the little girl, apparently. </p><p>“Yeah. She was so tired when she came home, I thought she’d conk out as soon as I left, but apparently not.” the girl replied. “Hey. Hey, Suyin, wake up!” </p><p>Suyin….where had she heard that name before?</p><p>The little girl stretched and sat up.</p><p>“So...you’re an Earthbender, huh baby?” said the woman, reaching up to push a piece of hair away from the girl’s face. </p><p>That voice...it sounded strangely like someone she used to know….but, no it couldn’t be.</p><p>“I guess so. That was crazy. I didn’t even know I could do that. Sokka said that meant my dad was an Earthbender. But I thought he was Fire Nation?”</p><p>Fire Nation? That would make sense if it was her…</p><p>“Yeah. I guess that’s why he was a criminal. We were both in the Fire Nation Army, but you’re not supposed to be in it unless you’re a Fire National. And you usually have to be a non bender of Fire Nation descent, or a Firebender to be a Fire National. So yeah, he would’ve been breaking the law.” she said. The little girl, Suyin, nodded. </p><p>“Okay, we should go take a shower, ‘cause we are still covered in sand and salt.” said Sokka. </p><p>“Yeah, well, you fell asleep the second you sat down.” quipped the woman. </p><p>“We played hard, didn’t we, Yin-Yang?”</p><p>“Sokka, stop calling me that! It doesn’t even make any sense.”</p><p>“Sure it does! Your name is Su-<em> yin </em>, isn’t it?”</p><p>“Jeez.”</p><p>“Okay, seriously you guys. Me and Moira need to go take a shower.”</p><p>Wait, no. The only person she knew named Moira was...oh, shit.</p><p>“Oh, hey Sokka? When I woke up, I heard a weird noise. Like metal against metal, but like...quiet.” </p><p>Uh oh. She creeped out from behind the couch and ducked back into the hall, holding her armor against herself so it wouldn’t make so much noise. </p><p>“Oh, La. Wonder how long she’s been here? She probably didn’t wake me up because she can tell it’s you…”</p><p>“Sokka, who are you talking about?”</p><p>“Why don’t we find out?” he stood up, groaning a little, and walked out into the hall. He grabbed her wrist and started to pull her towards the living room, but she dug her heels into the ground and pulled back. </p><p>“Come on.” he said. </p><p>“No.” she whispered. “I don’t want her to…”</p><p>“She’s not gonna freak out, or burn you, or whatever you think she’s going to do.”</p><p>“NO, I don’t want to...hurt her again. It’s why I didn’t try to keep up a connection or anything. She had her life. And now she’s got you. She doesn’t need me coming in and messing up her life again!!”</p><p>Oops. She’d said that last part a bit louder than she’d meant to. Like, a lot louder. She now noticed the tall, slim girl standing in the doorway.</p><p>“Toph?”</p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>Oh. So that’s what she heard. Her armor. Well, this is awkward. </p><p>“M. What are you doing here? I thought you were still in the Fire Nation.”</p><p>She chuckled awkwardly and bounced her foot, like she always did when she was nervous. “Yeah, that’s what everyone thinks. Umm, Kaji...died about four and a half years ago, and living there became too much. So I came here, but only told Sokka. I stayed here with him and Suyin, and didn’t tell anyone I was here. And umm...yeah.”</p><p>“Oh. Wait, so you’re telling me you’ve been living here for how long?”</p><p>“Mmm, about three or so months.”</p><p>“And none of us noticed?”</p><p>“Guess not.”</p><p>“Wow. You always did beat the kids at hide and seek.”</p><p>Moira laughed and Toph smiled. </p><p>“Oh, speaking of kids, where’s Lin?” asked Sokka. </p><p>“Lin?” said Moira. Toph scratched the back of her neck and sheepishly grinned. </p><p>“My...umm, well, daughter. She’s with Tenzin. She says it’s not a date, but the fact that her heart speeds up whenever I mention it says otherwise.”</p><p>“Oh, riiight. They’re still 11, Toph. Maybe you should lay off her a bit,”</p><p>“Suuure. And give up a chance to humiliate my daughter? Never.”</p><p>All of a sudden, Suyin appeared.</p><p>“Momma, who you talkin’ to?” she asked, Toph’s eyes widening the tiniest bit. </p><p>“Oh, so you got a kiddo too, huh?”</p><p>“Uh, yeah. This is Suyin. Say hello Su! This is Miss Beifong.”</p><p>“Hello, Miss Beifong.”</p><p>“Hey, kid. You seem like a very well mannered young lady, huh?”</p><p>“Yeah, until she has to take a bath. THEN she’s a little tornado, runnin’ all over the house, screamin like a banshee.” snorted Sokka. </p><p>“I am not!” she pointed an accusatory finger at him. “You get me all dirty when I play with you. So I have to take a bath!”</p><p>“She’s got a point, Sokka.” said Moira. The man in question huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, eliciting laughs from all three women. </p><p> </p><ol>
<li>Later that night, Moira was listening to the radio and reading while Sokka was cleaning dishes. Toph had stayed for dinner, and Lin had even joined them later. </li>
</ol><p>“So M?” asked Sokka, pulling Moira from her fantasy land of talking horses-turned-alicorns and angsty catgirls, women with magic swords and girls with prehensile hair. </p><p>“Hmm?”</p><p>“When are you going to explain to me why you two weren’t making out behind the stairs or something?”</p><p>“Oh La, Sokka! Why would we be?”</p><p>“Because it’s as evident that you two still have feelings for each other as it is that Aang’s the avatar.”</p><p>“Well…”</p><p>“Up-bup bup. No denial.”</p><p>“Fine, there may have been some...reignited feelings on my side, but what about hers?”</p><p>“Trust me, this is true, factual, and nothin’ but the truth. She still likes you. When Lin asked if you were the same Moira she used to date, and Su asked if that was true, your heart sped up, didn’t it?”</p><p>“What?! How..”</p><p>“Toph reacted to it. She’s still got the hots for you. Big time.”</p><p>“What...even if she does, how would I do anything about it? What about you?”</p><p>“If we’re being real here? We’re friends with benefits,There was nothing ever…real between us. Don’t take that the wrong way, but..”</p><p>“No, I know what you mean.”</p><p>“Good. So I say, you meet up with her, strike up conversation, casually bring something up that would give you an opening, mention we’re not really together, and see if you can catch a kiss or two.”</p><p>“It sounds….stupid. But I’m willing to try it.”</p><p>“Okay, I’ll set something up!”</p><p>“Ugh, I do not trust you with this.”</p><p>“Too bad!”</p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>And this is how Toph, Moira, Sokka, Lin and Suyin ended up getting together on Sokka’s back porch for a little BBQ. They had finished dinner and Sokka was playing with the girls and a frisbee. Toph and Moira sat on the porch swing and chatted. Moira kept looking for somewhere she could talk about Sokka, but Toph did it for her. </p><p>“So, how did you and Sokka get together?” she asked. </p><p>“Oh, well, we’re not <em> really </em> together.”</p><p>“Whaddya mean? I felt you kiss him two weeks ago.”</p><p>“Yeah, well...we’re not like...boyfriend-girlfriend..”</p><p>“Ohh, I get it. Sooo, friends that fuck each other.” Moira blushed, hotness crawling down her neck and back, emitting a snort from Toph. </p><p>“I-I guess..we kinda..stopped, though.”</p><p>“Oh, so you’re really, truly single now.”</p><p>“I guess you could say that.”</p><p>“Hey, come with me for a second.” she waved Moira inside to the kitchen.</p><p>“What?” Toph fingered the edge of the counter she was standing by, blushing a little.</p><p>“I missed you, you know.” she said softly. Moira stepped a little closer.</p><p>“I missed you. But I thought you were mad at me.”</p><p>“No! I was never...I just felt like I was less important to you than your work.”</p><p>“No, of course not! I wanted to work hard so I could...well, ask you to marry me.” Toph’s eyes widened. </p><p>“I wanted to stay with you forever, but you broke us up before I could.”</p><p>“Oh. Well, did you still want to?”</p><p>“Yes! I-I don’t think I ever really stopped wanting to,”</p><p>“If you asked me now...and-and I said yes...what..what would you do?”</p><p>“I’d be ecstatic! I’d kiss you and hug you and never want to let go again!”</p><p>“What if I told you I liked that idea? Everything that could've happened, what I said and what you said. What if I said I wanted it?”</p><p>“I would gladly let you have it.”</p><p>“Can you?”</p><p>Moira did just that.</p><p> </p><ol>
<li>Two months later, it was time for the wedding. Lin and Su had gotten used to the idea of being sisters, and everyone got news they were back together. Needless to say, everyone was extremely happy for them, and all of their closest friends were going to be there. The brides hadn’t seen each other in a week and they were so excited. </li>
</ol><p> </p><p>Katara was helping Toph get ready and Suki was helping Moira. </p><p>‘Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue’ was stuck in Moira’s head. She had something old, a traditional Fire Nation wedding tiara, something new, a brand new pair of black and gold boots , something borrowed, her dress was Suki’s wedding dress. Now she just had to find a way to fit something blue into her Fire Nation outfit. </p><p>“Suki?”</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“Do you know how I could fit something blue into this?” she waved toward her outfit laid out on the bed. </p><p>“Umm, I think Katara has some blue tulle. I could quickly sew a veil out of it and add some gold and black detail.”</p><p>“Yeah, that should work. Thanks for helping me.”</p><p>“Moira, you’re practically my sister. I’d say daughter, but Izumi would get mad at me.” Moira laughed as Suki walked off to find that veil. She came back a few minutes later with some blue and black flowers, black lace, a black comb and black tulle.</p><p>“I couldn’t find any blue tulle and Katara didn’t have any, so I got this stuff.”</p><p>“That’s fine.” Suki got to work sewing, gluing and fixing, and soon had a beautiful layered veil. </p><p>“It’s beautiful.” said Moira. </p><p>“Just like you’ll be once you let me finish with you. Alright get the dress on…..now the shoes….gloves...jewelry….here let me help you with the choker..let me do your hair now…...okay, makeup…..and there! Look at you. Gorgeous.” </p><p>XxOo(000)oOxX</p><p>“Toph, stay still!”</p><p>“That’s really hard for me!”</p><p>“Yeah, I can tell.”</p><p>“Don’t make me punch you on my wedding day.”</p><p>“Fine. But really, please stay still.”</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>“Mmm...there. You are stunning. Perfectly beautiful. And I’m sure Moira thinks the same.”</p><p>“Okay, anything else?”</p><p>“Mm, dress, leggings, shoes, jewelry, makeup, hair, headpiece, gloves. Let’s see, something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Old is your gloves, new is your dress, borrowed is the jewelry, and your shoes count as blue. Yep, all good. Alright, so you’re gonna go in first, on Sokka’s arm, then Moira will come in on Zuko’s arm, the ceremony will start, after that there’ll be the party, the guests will leave, and you, me, Moira, Sokka, Zuko, Suki, Aang, and the kids will have a private party. That sound good?”</p><p>“Perfect.”</p><p> </p><ol>

</ol><p>Everyone was seated and Toph was standing nervously at the altar. She fiddled with the end of the dress and bit her tongue. Then the Bridal March started and everyone turned their heads towards the hallway entrance. Moira walked in on Zuko’s arm, and everyone went silent. It was times like this when Toph wished she could see, if only for a minute, so she could see her beautiful wife-to-be. Moira was led up to the altar and stopped. </p><p>“Who gives this woman to be married today?”</p><p>“I, Fire Lord Zuko, give this woman to be married to her beloved.” The preacher nodded and Zuko placed Moira’s hands on Toph’s. He then walked back to his seat next to Izumi.</p><p>Key=Normal is Preacher, Italics is Moira, Bold is Toph, underlined is the readings</p><p>“I welcome and thank all who have gathered here today for bearing witness to the union of these two women. This is a special day for these two ladies, and I wish to make it as special as possible, so to all who wish the same, thank you.</p><p> </p><p>These two people have chosen almost every detail of the upcoming ceremony together and wish to let it be known that they did this to make up for the almost ten years they spent apart. This is a cause of misunderstandings and wrong assumptions, but all that we think of at the moment is their happy union of their lives.</p><p> </p><p>Today, the brides have chosen to do readings from a few of their closest friends. Starting with a man who has had romantic relations with both of them. Councilman Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe.“</p><p><span class="u">“Thank you, good sir. Today, I am attending the wedding of two of my ex-girlfriends. But, I completely and totally support them in their decision and wish them nothing but the best in their future life together. I also wish the best for their daughters, Suyin and Lin. Girls, I can say from experience with my own sister, prepare for war.”</span> Everyone laughed as Sokka took his place and Zuko walked up. </p><p>“Now a reading from Moira’s father figure, Fire Lord Zuko of the Fire Nation.”</p><p>
  <span class="u">“I found Moira defending herself from my guards one morning and knew I had to do something about the poor-looking 13-year-old with horrible firebending. No offence, M.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em> “None taken. I was pretty bad.” </em>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">“Okay, good. I soon realized she was the daughter of a very important man who died a few years before I found her. Me and my wife, Fire Lady Suki, took her in ourselves and raised her for years. We are extremely proud of the woman she’s grown to be and wish her happiness and love in her new life.”</span>
</p><p>“Thank you, Mr. Fire Lord. Now Avatar Aang.”</p><p>
  <span class="u">“When I met Moira, she was an energetic, bubbly 15 year old who stole my heart as soon as I saw her. I now love her as a sister and wish her good luck for her new life. Toph was my Earthbending teacher, and one of the best friends I ever had. I actually met her when I won bending battle with her. Nobody saw me airbend, so...we got off on a rocky start. Soon I befriended her and she became on of the people I trusted the most. I hope she enjoys her new life as much as possible.”</span>
</p><p>“Alright, now the Avatar’s wife, Waterbending Master Katara from the Southern Water Tribe.”</p><p>
  <span class="u">“I met Toph and Moira years apart, but have the same amount of affection for both of them. They are two of my closest girls, and I love them both. They are perfect for each other, they’ll balance each other out. I know they’ll be happy together for as long as they live.”</span>
</p><p>“Thank you. Last, Fire Lady Suki, from the Earth Kingdom.”</p><p>
  <span class="u">“Okay! I have been waiting for this day for years! When I met both of these ladies, we became quick friends. I looked past Toph’s blindness and Moira’s poor beginnings and found the great women these girls are deep inside. They both have a rebellious side, but are two big softies, although they’ll both deny it as long as they live. I hope they treat each other well and love the other forever.”</span>
</p><p>“Okay, time for the vows. Moira and Toph have chosen to use traditional vows, so here we go. Toph.”</p><p><b>“I, Toph Beifong of Gaoling, take Moira Okiye of Caldera City for my lawfully wedded wife, </b> <b>to </b> <b>have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”</b></p><p>“Good. Now Moira.”</p><p><em> “I, Moira Okiye of Caldera City, take Toph Beifong of Gaoling for my lawfully wedded wife, </em> <em> to </em> <em> have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.” </em></p><p>“Alright. Now will the ring bearer step forward?” Tenzin stepped up to the altar carrying a white cushion with two rings on it. Moira picked up the red and black one, sliding it on Toph’s ring finger, and Toph slid the green and black one on Moira’s. </p><p>“I now pronounce you wives. You may kiss the bride.” Moira wasted no time taking Toph’s face in her hands and pressing her lips to the other woman’s. Toph wrapped her arms around Moira’s waist and tilted her back a little, as the crowd erupted into cheers. They straightened and pulled apart, to perform the unity ceremony. They grabbed two vials of colored sand, green and red, and looked at each other, then started pouring the sand into a larger glass. The mixing colors symbolized their new connection, two individuals now one. </p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Okay, I thought some of you might want to see the outfits from the wedding, so here they are!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Moira's outfit-</p><p>Tiara</p><p>Boots</p><p>Dress-</p><p>Makeup-</p><p>Necklace-</p><p>Earrings-</p><p>Gloves-</p><p>Veil-</p><p>Pretend these are glued to the veil's comb-</p><p>Hairstyle (Pretend the flame crown in is place of the other one and the veil was placed just behind the crown)</p><p>Bouquet-</p><p>Now for Toph's stuff-</p><p>Tiara(yes, she's wearing a crown)-</p><p>Shoes (imagine the flowers are blue)-</p><p>Dress-</p><p>Leggings-</p><p>Necklace-</p><p>Earrings-</p><p>Bracelets-</p><p>Gloves-</p><p>Veil-</p><p>Hairstyle-</p><p>Makeup-  </p><p>Real quick, how many of you think Katara got Toph to wear the pink things by not telling her they were pink? That's what happened in my mind. </p><p>Okay, now the background outfits, because I want to-</p><p>Katara's-  </p><p>Suki's-   </p><p>Sokka's-</p><p>Aang's-</p><p>Zuko's- he'd either wear this or his Fire Lord robes, either one, it's ZUKO.</p><p>Now, I know the kids don't show up in the wedding, but I'm going to do their outfits anyway-</p><p>Lin's-  </p><p>Suyin's-  and she's only five, so no makeup for her</p><p>Bumi's-</p><p>Tenzin's-</p><p>Kya's-  </p><p>Izumi's-  </p><p>And there you go! I hope you liked these outfits! If there's anything you think I should change, suggestions are always welcome in the comments!</p>
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